The information in this program outline is provided by the program representative and edited by the CEBC staff. The Transitional Housing Program for Homeless Young Adults (THP) program has been reviewed by the CEBC in the area of: Youth Transitioning Into Adulthood, but lacks the necessary research evidence to be given a Scientific Rating.

• Types of Maltreatment: Does not target any specific kind of maltreatment
• Target Population: Emancipated foster and probation youth between the ages of 18-21 who are homeless or at risk of being homeless. The program is designed to allow teen parents and their child(ren) to participate.

THP, developed by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), is a 12-18 month program. The program provides housing (including payment of rent and utilities), life-skills training, employment assistance, educational assistance, food vouchers, transportation resources, and case management supportive services. THP requires the participants not attending school to work full-time. Youth that elect to attend school can work part-time or full-time. The participant must contribute 50% of their earnings to be deposited into a trust fund account that is returned to them with interest upon exiting the program. The housing is provided in scattered sites throughout the county. The participants live in one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments with one participant per room.

• Housing in scattered-site apartments, 244 total beds available
• Payment of rent and utilities for participants
• Provision of monthly food vouchers
• Provision of monthly transportation resources (i.e., bus tokens, bus passes, etc.)
• Work/Save Track (full-time employment) or Work/Study Track (full-time or part-time student and part-time or full-time employment)
• Establishment of a trust fund account for each participant
• Mandatory monthly trust fund contributions
• Mandatory weekly life-skills classes
• Mandatory semi-annual seminars/workshops
• Annual program, social activity, or retreat
• Availability of a Public Health Nurse to address health issues and provide health-related life-skills classes
• Employment assistance and referrals
• Educational assistance and resources
• Case management supportive services by Master's level social workers. The caseload size is a maximum of 25 residents per case manager.

Transitional Housing Program for Homeless Young Adults (THP) was designed with a child component that addresses the following presenting problems and symptoms:

• Emancipating from the foster care system.

Age range: 18 – 21

Developmental Delays:

This program was not developed for children with developmental delays, and has not been tested for children with developmental delays.

Transitional Housing Program for Homeless Young Adults (THP) was not designed with a parent/caregiver component.

Transitional Housing Program for Homeless Young Adults (THP) was designed to be conducted in a group setting; but has not been tested for use in a group setting.

Recommended group size:

Life-skills classes are designed to be conducted in a group format with a group size of 8-10 participants.

Recommended Intensity:

Group classes teaching life skills meet weekly. Individual sessions are also offered if there are schedule conflicts or special needs.

Recommended Duration:

The average length of each contact (group or individual) is 1 hour.

Not Specified

This program does not include a homework component.

Transitional Housing Program for Homeless Young Adults (THP) does not have materials available in a language other than English.

The typical resources for implementing the program are:

• Housing in the form of 1-2 bedroom apartments
• Personnel to provide supportive services
• Food/transportation resources
• Life-skills curriculum

Master's level social workers and supervisors for provision of case management, supportive services, and program supervision.

There is not a manual that describes how to implement this program; but there is training available for this program.

Training Contact:

• Karen Compton-Moore
  Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services
  compka@dcfs.co.la.ca.us

Training is obtained:

Via phone consultation.

Number of days/hours:

Informal training/consultation is available to those who are interested.

This program has been reviewed and it was determined that this program lacks the type of published, peer-reviewed research that meets the CEBC criteria for a scientific rating of 1 – 5. Therefore, the program has been given the classification of "NR - Not able to be Rated." It was reviewed because it was identified by the topic expert as a program being used in the field, or it is being marketed and/or used in California with children receiving services from child welfare or related systems and their parents/caregivers. Some programs that are not rated may have published, peer-reviewed research that does not meet the above stated criteria or may have eligible studies that have not yet been published in the peer-reviewed literature. For more information on the "NR - Not able to be Rated" classification, please see the Scientific Rating Scale.

Child Welfare Outcomes: Not Specified

Currently, there are no published, peer-reviewed research studies for Transitional Housing Program for Homeless Young Adults (THP).

No reference materials are currently available for Transitional Housing Program for Homeless Young Adults (THP).